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stlgeekgirl · 5 years ago

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My Star Wars Discourse

It’s been a week since I’ve seen TRoS and the majority of the people have seen it, I’ve read theory upon theory and criticism, upon criticism from both sides of the aisle, ironically all of them are pretty much saying the same thing, just using different words.

Now, I have words. I’m one of those “rarities” on Tumblr. I was a young child when A New Hope came out in theaters. I read TESB before I saw it and it was a huge deal when my father took me to see RoTJ. I am still under the stubborn belief that the EU is still canon, no matter what anyone says. (Mara Jade is canon, dammit!) I’ve been a fan of Star Wars since the age of 10 and my fangirl squealing is usually kept between my siblings and my IRL friends.

But, because I know some people have not seen it yet, I will not only be tagging this so those blacklisting it won’t see it on their dash, I’ll also put it behind a cut. Because it might be long, and slightly ranty and nobody wants to scroll past that.

Abandon hope, ye who enter here.

Anyone who knows me knows that I’ve harbored a dislike of JJ Abrams since 2009 when he pulled his BS with the Star Trek franchise. In fact, the only reason I liked Into Darkness was because Benedict Cumberbatch was in it and even then, I was not happy with him being cast as Khan. He was a wonderful bad guy and there was a multitude of evil villains he could have brilliantly played. My favorite movie was.Beyond because Justin Lin directed it and, in my mind, that was the most “Star Trek” Star Trek movie done this century.

On to Star Wars. After my anger with the first franchise, the first thing I said when I heard Abrams was doing Star Wars was “if he fucks this up, I will appear at his house with a pitchfork”

First, I liked Episode 7,8 and 9. Truly, I did. There were things I didn’t like about then, but all in all, I did like the overarching theme of family and making your own that was tied in with the usual Good vs. Evil that is Star Wars. I loved the First Order and it’s resemblance to what the Empire used to be. Someone wrote that in the Star Ward universe, the Empire represented Nazism and the First Order represented the Alt-Right. I think that is a perfect example and one that gives us hope. If rebels can defeat a powerful institution like the Empire/First Order, then it gives us hope. Which is what Star Wars was supposed to do; give us hope.

I thought Kylo Ren was the perfect foil to Darth Vader; wanting to be like the largest representation of evil in the galaxy but never quite getting the same amount of respect. The tantrums in The Force Awakens were priceless of a spoiled man child who can’t quite fit into grandpa’s black boots.

The hate/hate relationship between Kylo and Hux was both creepy and laughable and I found myself truly upset when he was killed with so little afterthought.

The theme of good vs evil and the lure of the dark side that happened between Kylo and Rey throughout the last three movies was well done. Well done in the theme of the seductive tricks evil uses to make a person turn.

Now the things I had issues with:

I am not a Reylo shipper. But I know people I am friends with are and the entire YSINMSATOK rule is still in effect. I thought the thing between Kylo and Rey was abusive and manipulative and it reeked of evil seducing good in order to corrupt. That said, I did like the thing between Ben and Rey. And I have to admit, whatever my thoughts on Adam Driver, the man is a phenomenal actor. by just facial expressions you could see the transformation from Kylo Ren to Ben Solo and it was powerful.

I understood that for someone to come back from years in the Dark Side, a sacrifice must be made. Anakin did it and so did Ben. It was true to the story and there was no other way.

I also want to say that Stormpilot should have absolutely been a thing. An actual canon thing. I’ll even venture so far as to say that not only should Stormpilot have been a thing but so should FinnPoeRey. (I’m not sure what that ship name is, forgive me). As much as I adore Vinette Robinson and smiled when I saw that “the gay kiss” was two women, they absolutely could have and should have made that reunion scene more between Poe and Finn.

I liked Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi and I am annoyed at Abrams’ “retconning” as much as he could. If he had a vision, he should’ve stayed with all three. Johnson’s TLJ felt like Star Wars and the scene where Kylo turned his back on Rey was powerful as hell. He had a choice and he made the wrong one, which made his redemption/sacrifice in TRoS even more important.

I absolutely hate this phrase but Rose Tico absolutely deserved better. She deserved more than to be an unwitting romantic foil for Finn in TLJ and because of that, she was sorely unused in TRoS. Her character was so much more in TRoS and yet she was hardly in it.

I’ve seen people tell me that they didn’t like her character because she wasn’t really much in TLJ and therefore they couldn’t see where she could even be placed in TRoS. To those people, I offer this: Dominic Monaghan. This person, who’d never even been in a Star Wars movie until this one was given the role that Kelly Marie Tran should’ve had, Instead of being regulated to one-liners and afterthoughts, she could’ve absolutely been placed in the staring role as arguing against Finn and Poe instead of Kin. No offense to Monaghan, who had the honor of playing in a Star Wars movie, but there was literally no reason for Kin to be in this movie other than Abrams needed another white male to shine out and, I’ll say it, racism and misogyny. Rose “got in the way” of Stormpilot (which, BTW, I have not heard any backlash against Keri Russell’s Zorii Bliss) and therefore she became a casualty of fandom and a director who pulled the equivalent of Lucas insisting “Greedo shot first” with his retconning.

Do not take this to mean that I ship it. Rose Tico was supposed to be “us”. She was used incorrectly and FinnRose would’ve been horrible. The ship was forced and therefore it didn’t work...at all. Rose was so much better as one of General Organa’s army and she should have been used as such in TRoS. In her meager parts, Rose shows knowledge and an eagerness to the Resistance that far surpasses anyone other than the main three.

If there is a disagreement, take a good hard look at your argument.

There’s probably more I can touch on but this is already much too long. Usually, I don’t discuss my Star Wars love in so much depth but as this is an end of an era, I could no longer sit idly by without finally putting my 0.02 in. I know there will be people who hate me for this and to them, I saw...*shrug*

#star wars #spoilers #the rise of skywalker #fan discourse #fan wank #Star Wars Universe #SWU #tros spoilers #if I missed a tag #let me know

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rebelsofshield · 5 years ago

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Panels Far, Far Away: A Week in Star Wars Comics 8/28/19

A crowded week of comics brings the end of Galaxy’s Edge, two new Age of Resistance tales, and a one page wonder from Charles Soule.

Star Wars Age of Resistance: General Hux #1 written by Tom Taylor and art by Leonard Kirk

There are few characters that are as delightfully contemptible as Armitage Hux. Played with sniveling petulance by Domnhall Gleeson, this rabid cur has become the face of the First Order’s own take on fascism and male insecurity.

One larger criticism of Hux as a character is that his position as a punching bag for other big bads robs him of menace or presence. Writer Tom Taylor finds a way to take that concept and twist it, revealing the violent underbelly to Hux’s seemingly fragile exterior.

The set up to “Marooned” feels fairly familiar for Star Wars. Forcing two rivals to survive alongside one another following a shuttle crash bares more than a passing resemblance to Star Wars Rebels episode, “The Honorable Ones.” While Rebels used this story structure to force two enemies to find the humanity in one another, Taylor opts for a darker approach and shows how Hux uses Kylo Ren to help him manipulate those around him. Taylor paints a Hux that knows how to play the room but also harbors a violent and simmering need for vengeance. It goes a long way to transforming the man into a force to be reckoned with. It makes a case that maybe all those beatings dished out to Armitage over the course of two films may be building toward something awful.

Leonard Kirk’s art is best at the moments when his characters do their worst. There is a certain eerie quality to how he draws Hux and he captures this man’s own sadism in unsettling ways.

Score: B+

Star Wars Age of Resistance: Poe Dameron #1 written by Tom Taylor and art by Ramon Rosanas

Out of the central characters in the current Star Wars trilogy, few have enjoyed the limelight quite as much as Poe Dameron. In addition to starring in all three of the sequel films, Poe also has a regular guest role on Star Wars Resistance and even got his own comic series that ran for over thirty issues.

In this way, there just isn’t really much for writer Tom Taylor to offer. While there certainly are aspects of Poe’s character that could be explored (give him a boyfriend dammit), most of this hot shot’s life has been chronicled already.

Taylor finds a nice solution in giving us a much earlier story than we have previously experienced. We follow Poe during his New Republic days as he attempts to hunt down and capture a mysterious freighter that may have ties to the newly formed Resistance.

There isn’t much drama here, but Taylor has clear fun in giving Poe a relatively low stakes mission to flex his pilot muscles and discover a less restrictive alternative to the New Republic navy. Taylor holds the identity of Poe’s mysterious rival until the last page, and while it isn’t necessarily shocking, the reveal is rife with dramatic irony and offers a fun twist on one of the more contested dynamics in The Last Jedi.

Score: B

Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge #5 written by Ethan Sacks and art by Will Sliney

It’s a standoff in Dok-Ondar’s shop of oddities as the past, present, and future of Batuu come crashing together. The result is a busy finale that is fun, but ultimately disposable and lacking in direction.

Kendoh’s crew has Dok-Ondar cornered in their attempt to steal half of the Sword of Khashyun and to make matters worse, the First Order has arrived to put a stop to the criminality of Ondar’s shop. Oh! And the old Ithorian still has to tell us what exactly happened with him and Doctor Aphra on Moraband. Everyone has a trick up their sleeves and who exactly is playing who will become apparent soon enough, but not after a few blaster bolts are shot and sarlacc’s are fed.

As you can probably tell, there’s a lot happening in the conclusion to Galaxy’s Edge. Not only did Ethan Sacks hold over the ending of his Doctor Aphra centered tale from last week, but there’s also three different factions locked in a room together with their sights on valuable treasure. It could have made for a fun and tense issue, but there just isn’t enough breathing room for many of Sack’s creative choices to pay off. In particular, Kendoh and her team were never really compelling characters so investment their fate and success is a hard sell. Dok-Ondar also takes a far more sinister turn here than one would expect from previous installments and it ends the comic on an oddly nefarious note.

In general, there’s a weird sort of disconnect happening throughout Galaxy’s Edge. There’s a particularly off putting sequence that sees the comic’s First Order antagonist rattling off about responsibility and order and how Batuu is in need of this sort of direction and hegemony. Will Sliney accompanies this monologue with brief stills of various locations at Batuu or, in a more cynical fashion, attractions at Disneyland. It feels as if the creative team got to the end of their script and realized that they hadn’t really done enough to plug the land that the comic ties into and this segment was thrown in. If we had spent more time with the planet of Batuu or its inhabitants maybe we could’ve had an emotional connection to this sequence, but as it stands, it feels hollow and calculated.

Sliney’s art also feels off here. The blocking for the big crowded showdown in Dok-Ondar’s shop is messy and confusing. For being the climax of five issues, it makes for an underwhelming set piece and disappointingly confusing to read.

Score: C

Marvel Comics #1000: “Red Four” written by Charles Soule and art by Terry Dodson

Well, turns out Marvel snuck in a tiny bit of Star Wars outside of its main line of books this week. The highest profile comic from the House of Ideas today consists of eighty different short stories each told with various creative teams to capture the full history of the Marvel universe and publisher. Given how important Star Wars was to the company in the 70’s and 80’s and now again in present day, it’s only appropriate that one of those eighty pages get dedicated to the galaxy far, far away.

As a whole, Marvel Comics #1000 is a fun if disjointed love letter to all things Marvel. Some stories work, some do not, but it’s really hard to be too critical of the individual pieces given the strict creative mandate that the various talents had to work under. Even with that considered, Charles Soule and Terry Dodson turn in a sizzler of a little Star Wars story that sees Darth Vader evading defeat by a team of Rebel pilots. It’s short, effective, and another bit of comics based coolness for the Dark Lord. Soule always had a great sense of how to write Vader and his punchy script makes the most of the single page. Dodson’s economical panel structure is to be commended. It’s a tight little story that is sure to bring a smirk to Vader fans.

Is it worth the $9.99 price of admission alone? Hell no. The story’s already available all over the place online if you really want to check it out. If you are a Marvel fan in addition to a Star Wars one, it is definitely worth giving this tribute a look, but if you don’t like to cross your fandom wires too much, probably give this a skip.

Score: B

#Star Wars #Star Wars comics #Marvel #review #reviews #Age of Resistance #Galaxy's Edge #Poe Dameron #Armitage Hux #General Hux #Tom Taylor #Leonard Kirk #Ramon Rosanas #Ethan Sacks #Will Sliney #Charles Soule #Terry Dodson

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legobiwan · 7 years ago

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My incoherent thoughts after watching TLJ a second time

PREPARE THYSELVES I AM FEELING A BIT TALKATIVE

Okay, first off the bat, I’m going to try and list the call-back moments that weren’t as obvious and may or may not have been on purpose.

The bombs in Paige Tico’s ship? Straight out of the Blue Shadow Virus arc on TCW.

Uh...part of Phasma’s helmet coming off after a strike? Haven’t we seen that before? (OH GOD MY HEART)

The entire Kylo Ren TIE scene. (I’ll try spinning! That’s a good trick! “Follow my lead.”)

Luke BRUSHING OFF HIS DAMN CLOAK LIKE HIS FOREFATHERS BEFORE HIM?

Obviously the elevator scene with Kylo and Rey harkening back to ROTJ. (What is with this entire universe and elevators? honestly) And a lot of the throne room scene, as well.

Follow the spooky wolf animal to safety?

Okay, the whole Canto Bight scene. I LOVE that sequence. Canto Bight is kind of like an inverse Tatooine. Instead of being a wretched hive of scum and villainy, it’s a fancy hive of high-class scum and villainy. And did the Fathier race (space horses) not remind you a bit of a certain pod-racing sequence?

Okay, that was the fun part. (I’m sure I’m missing some but it’s late and whatevs) and now Luke. Ohhhhh Luke.

Rian Johnson did his homework. Luke’s whole reaction to the Jedi - Rian took into account the whole history - the Prequels, TCW, Rebels, the OT - and that all led to Luke sequestering himself on a remote island. In many ways, everything that came before the sequels was yes, the story of the Skywalker family, but also the story of the downfall of the Jedi Order. Luke says it himself when he says (I’m paraphrasing) that it was vanity of the Jedi to believe that if the Jedi went extinct, the Light (side of the Force) would be lost. I LOVE that line. I’m a hardcore Jedi defender, and yet he has it right.

But let’s step back here for a moment. Imagine you are Luke after ROTJ. You’ve defeated the big bad, this Palpatine guy (and remember, Luke probably only finds out about Sidious’s rise to power later). You’ve turned your evil dad back to the Light as he made one last heroic sacrifice. You are literally the last (semi)trained Jedi in the universe.

It’s a little lonely out there for Luke, especially for someone with his power. And he KNOWS his lineage, how that could go wrong.

So what does he do? Who does he consult? I mean, I guess he could ask ghost-dad, ghost-uncle, and creepy ghost-grandfather troll dude. But they are all from the old Jedi line, even Anakin. And something tells me they weren’t hanging around all that much. So Luke goes and consults some old Jedi texts, tries to rebuild the Jedi in the way that Anakin, and Yoda, and Obi-wan would have wanted him to.

And it fails disastrously. Because the Jedi of that time failed disastrously, and Luke was just repeating all their mistakes. (I mean, we don’t know anything about this academy, so this is my speculation as to how he got to where he was on Ach-to).

Of course, I can’t move forward without speaking about the Ben Solo almost-murder scene. Yes, maybe out of character. Maybe not. So Luke is half-assing this Jedi Academy thing because he feels it’s the right thing to do (not that Luke is incapable, but he didn’t have any formal Jedi training like Anakin or Obi-wan, and grew up on a backwater desert planet with what was probably not your typical educational system). AND, as an educator myself, let’s just say that DOING something well and TEACHING something well are two very different skills.

So Snoke is hiding out in Hondo Ohnaka’s old stronghold gathering his Forces and doing a spooky brain connecting thing with Kylo, corrupting him. (Okay, one part of the sentence is false and I won’t get into some of the other reasons Kylo turned due to his family and lineage and expectations because that’s been done to death.)

Luke’s probably a little overwhelmed and he’s been through some things, you know, with the dark side and his family and maybe feels a little self-conscious about this. And THEN let us not forget that BOTH Obi-wan and Yoda urged Luke to just outright kill Vader because he was evil. (I will come back to this point later.) So this idea of killing evil has already been implanted in Luke’s mind, even though he resisted it the first time.

But now? He’s older, he’s doing what he thinks is the correct Jedi way, and he knows that something is off with Ben Solo. And then he reaches out and there it is, his father all over again. And perhaps there are those voices of his mentors, telling him to kill. Would it happen again? Did he have the strength to fight the same battle again and again?

It’s Luke, though, so of course, it was only a half-second slip.

It was enough from Ben Solo/Kylo (and let’s also not forget that Ben was so dark at that point that his first reaction was to fight Luke and go on a killing spree.)

So Luke is guilty as hell and retreats. He realizes the faults of the Jedi Order, their mindset, their hypocrisy, and cuts himself off from the Force.

Here is what is interesting to me. You know who else thought the Jedi Order was full of hypocrites who couldn’t see beyond the Code?

Dooku.

But what did Dooku do? Join the Sith. (And look, I love Dooku as a character, but let’s be real here.)

What did Luke do? Isolate himself so he wouldn’t be a danger to others. And that, my friends, is a very Luke thing to do.

And in the end, when it came to fight (as many others have pointed out) - Luke never fought. Not really. He looked great with his father’s lightsaber, but never swung it at Kylo, just danced around. And oh yeah, he was a projection the entire time. The ultimate pacifist fighting (Satine Kryze would be so proud and offended at the oxymoron).

And the Jedi? Maybe that one Moff was right. They, in some ways, are an ancient religion, with all the issues that come with trying to preserve centuries-old social mores in a contemporary society. Obi-wan and Anakin/Vader’s fights were done in the context of the old. And Luke was that bridge between the old and the new (which we see in Rey and Kylo Ren and stable kid).

Off topic from the Jedi for a minute, but one of the things I loved about the Ach-to montage of green milk and large harpooning is that it showed Luke being Tatooine Luke - just in a different environment. You know he had to do similar things on Tatooine, and he just adjusted back to his farmstead life, to some degree. And his humor is not lost. Perhaps a little more wizened, but that happens to all of us as we age :)

Now about that failure thing. Let’s remember Yoda’s first famous phrase to Luke on Dagobah. “Do or do not, there is no try.” That’s a long ways away from “failure is a teacher.” And the thing is...both Yoda and Obi-wan failed (to a degree) with Luke. He ran off to Cloud City, got his hand chopped off, and things after ESB weren’t looking so hot. And that’s why I think it’s great for Yoda to come to this and bring it to Luke in TLJ, because it just shows how far the remaining (ghosts) of the Jedi Order have come to look past the attitudes that got them into the Darth Sidious mess to begin with.

And so, guys, that’s my reading into hermit Luke and why I actually think the entire thing is really cool and a great homage to the entire set of films and tv shows that predated this movie. Oh yeah, and the twin suns with the Force theme in the background nearly killed me WHY DOES EVERYTHING NAMED TWIN SUNS ELICIT THIS REACTION IN ME SERIOUSLY STAR WARS STOP IT

#GUYS I'M SORRY I'M SUPER TIRED AND THIS IS SUPER LONG #i just needed to vent #needless to say i enjoyed this movie yet again #and personally feel that rj really studied the fuck out of the pt and ot eras and i likethis #it's different and it totally subverts expectations but it's really good #tlj #tlj spoilers #luke's last scene was an emotional attack jeeze #leia had to have known #oh gods i should go to sleep #hello there #i am but a simple lego with some opinions #you can do what you want with this ;)#good night tumblr #*snore*

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avengcrwanda · 7 years ago

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The Last Jedi Secrets Explained: Transcript

So I watched the video shared by @sleemo on the secrets of The Last Jedi as discussed by the Lucasfilm story group. I made a transcript of the interesting tidbits (at least, for me) and am sharing in case you guys want to read. I have interpretations also in between so let me know what you think!

(For the Reylo force bond one, I referenced the transcript of @felixazrael - you and @sleemo are awesome!)

I’m just halfway through the video so please forgive me. Will add when I watch the rest. :)

Topics I covered are:

Kyber crystal necklace of Luke

Resistance access to First Order blueprints

Millennium Falcon dice

Porgs and their colors

Holdo Hero Silence Scene

Rey and Kylo force bond

1) Kyber Crystal Necklace of Luke

Andi: I was asking you about the kyber crystal necklace... Pablo: That's right. Andi: And it's just something that he has? Pablo: It's just an interesting prop to suggest he's been out in the galaxy collecting clues and doing research about the history of the Jedi. So I mentioned that it was just a captured trophy from a Jedi crusader from ages past. What I'm hoping to is to just be evocative enough to pick up that thread and say, "Hey you know what, I bet you that's what this story is." And we definitely have the avenues and the channels to tell those kinds of stories.

Potential Knights of the Old Republic storyline? Revan? I just remembered all the fake leaks saying it was Darth Vader’s kyber crystal LOL. This was a case of reading too much into things.

2) On the Resistance having the layout of the First Order's ships

Matt: There's one more good Battlefront Connection. In the Resurrection DLC...(laugh on spoilers) Iden and her daughet Zay and Triv (?) actually find plans to the Dreadnought, which are then... They transfer it to the Resistance and that is what kind of helps with Poe's attack. They wouldn't have known where to plant those bombs if it wasn't for Iden and her squad. Andi: That's cool. Pablo: It's not only the Dreadnought but also more information about the First Order military and fleet. We'd like to think that's partially where the map that Rose has that she projects in order to explain what the plan is to get to the Mega Destroyer.

This explains a lot to me. I just found it so weird the Poe knew where all the canons were and that Rose suddenly had the layout of the First Order’s ships.

3) Millennium Falcon Dice

Andi: We have to talk about the dice: legendary Millenium Falcon prop. And we finally get to see it up close here. Leland: We were gonna put it in The Force Awakens and then they ended up changing it. Matt: I think they're technically there, you just don't actually see it in a shot. Leland: There was a shot where Han was gonna put the dice up. Pablo: JJ shot a scene where Han hangs them up and Rian saw that and that's why he made such a - you know - a meal out of the dice in The Last Jedi. But then JJ cut the dice appearance in The Force Awakens. So as a result, what Rian ends up referencing, is not so much The Force Awakens but A New Hope because that's the clearest thing - Andi: Right. Thats just something that people who've been fans for a long time - they just know it's there even if they haven't really seen it. Pablo: But even if they don't, the shot establishes that Luke goes onto the Falcon and reaches up so you understand that's something that's remained on the Falcon - Andi: Something sentimental. And that might be something that pops back up. Matt: *hinting voice* Maybe. Wink wink.

I’m pretty sure Luke never gave the dice back so maybe Matt’s “wink wink” doesn’t mean anything. Unless Rey is coming back to Ach-to to retrieve Luke’s stuff. Or Kylo/Ben might get it back one day? I’m not sure.

4) DJ

Andi: Speaking of DJ...who wants to tell the story of DJ? Rayne: When Rian was developing the story, he had this idea of this politically agnostic character that would be of service to them. So I feel like in the story group conversations we just called him DJ for don't join because that was his ideology - don't join. And I don't know when did we decide that that is actually gonna be his name. Andi: Instead of Ezra Bridger. *laughs* Pablo: That's what his hat says - I'm Ezra. Rayne: But that was a placeholder name that ended up working out really really well. Pablo: And it's a reference to Elvis Costello. Matt: Yeah, an Elvis Costello poster - really great kind of punk rock Elvis Costello poster. Pablo: And yeah, his hat does say "Don't Join." Leland: Which was on the action figure so that was actually revealed before the movie came out.

I’m putting links for both Ezra and Elvis in case you guys don’t know them. LOL. This tidbit we basically confirmed (as mentioned by Leland) before the movie came out. I just feel we need more DJ content. Hahaha.

5) Porgs and Their Colors

Andi: Has it been confirmed that Porgs look different based on their sex? Rayne: The male Porgs have the orange around the eyes. Pablo: Yeah, they're the more colorful ones. So Chewie's little sidekick Porg is a boy Porg. Andi: Does Chewie's Porg have a name? Pablo: No, but that's something that we could get Star Wars to hashtag. Matt: I feel that Chewie would have named it and we wouldn't have been able to pronounce it. Pablo: What if he named it Han? All: Awwwww.

I’m a fan of Porgs so this was really interesting. I noticed that the colors were different but didn’t think of attributing it to sex. And I don’t have a copy of the Visual Dictionary and Art Book (sadly, not available in my country yet) so I am putting this here.

6) Holdo Hero Silence Scene

Andi: One of my new favorite moments in Star Wars is that moment of silence. Rayne: Holdo the hero. Andi: Is there any specific inspiration that went into that, or what was the process of creating that moment? Because that was astounding. Pablo: All I know is that Rian - he had it in the story pretty early on. Rayne: We called it the Holdo the Hero Scene. Pablo: He was asking about the dynamics and the physics - Star Wars physics - could a ship do this? What does it mean? Does this upset anything? And we were like, well, the fact that the Resistance cruiser and the Mega Destroyer are so close in size - I mean obviously one's still much bigger - that kind of what allows you to have this Titanic explosion that happens. If you flew an X-wing into a ship at light speed, you're not gonna get that. You're only gonna get that if something is big as Holdo's ship, that's what it does. But in terms of how it was staged, I think we were all caught by surprise at how we did it because it was really beautiful. Matt: Especially the sound. I didn't l know that they were gonna cut the sound until the film. First time I saw the final cut - Andi: It's brilliant. Matt: It's amazing. And it's cool 'cause as an audience member it allows you to hear what everybody else says.

One of my favorite scenes - it was done really nicely. I think the silence really drives the impact home.

7) Reylo Force Bond (!!!)

Rayne: The little subtleties when you have the Rey and Kylo force connection moments, how the sound from each of their environments kind of seeps into the other's and just that simple way of telegraphing that they're connected. Pablo: And that's something Rian had in his idea from the very start - that we would use a very low tech - basically in-camera cinematic trick to understand that those two are communicating. You could have done a version where there was all sorts of wizardry shaping the screen but no. It's just the oldest cinematic trick in the book. Rayne: Eye lines and - Pablo: Yeah, and it works. Matt: Yeah, and it completely - just the eye line itself completely sells it. Leland: Plus there's some dialogue in there that Kylo Ren says: "Can you see me? I can't see you." Andi: That's why he was shirtless the next time. *laughs* Pablo: You never know. Working on his guns - Andi: *counting, exercising* Pablo: Oh, I didn't see you there. Andi: Oh, hey. Matt: He actually spent a lot of time walking completely shirtless hoping for that connection to kick in. Oh, sorry. Andi: So good, so good. Rayne: It kinda goes back to something that Larry Kasdan used to talk about when we were doing The Force Awakens. It's not in the script but when he peers into her mind, there's something profound that happens between them and the way that Larry used to describe it was there's this *emphasis* ENERGY between them like this kind of almost - and I don't want to say it - but something a little more than you expect and I think it's fun to see it play out in the story as well. Pablo: It feels like there's definitely a door opened between the two of them in The Force Awakens, where they pull from each other in terms of skills and memories. And then that is the more poignant at the end [of The Last Jedi] when that door essentially closes, it's sort of - it's The Godfather shot of the door closing between Michael and Kay. And that's like *door closing actions* Millenium Falcon door separates them. Andi: And actually the connection between Rey and Kylo made me think about the connection between Ezra and Maul that we see in Rebels. Something happens with them in the Force that links them. That's something that we've seen before. Pablo: Yeah. I think Rian and Dave share a lot of ideas and commonalities and interesting themes. The crystal foxes are an example of nature coming to the aid of those on the Light. And that's definitely part of something in Ezra's story line.

Reylos are right! Force bond in the interrogation scene! Rey pulled skills from Kylo/Ben! (although Pablo hinted at this before)

On The Godfather reference - I've linked The Godfather ending scene above in the transcript. I don't think they mean it's the same literally. It was just shot similarly and they both show two love interests who are separated by their ideals. I haven't watched any of The Godfather movies but I read the summaries and Michael and Kay reconciled in the end. There were still some tragedies but it's important to note that the two films/trilogies are very different. Star Wars won't follow The Godfather route.

Also, I don’t think that Pablo means the force bond is gone. It’s just that they’re separated at that moment - physically and on their ideals. I feel that it’s a waste of story potential to do away with the force bond. Everyone I know found it cool.

So there ya have it! I’ll watch the rest of the vid when I get home.

#star wars #star wars: the last jedi #reylo #rey of jakku #kylo ren #ben solo #porgs #!!!#finn #poe dameron #amilyn holdo #tlj spoilers #luke skywalker #leia organa #princess leia #han solo #rose tico #paige tico

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nightmareduringxmas · 7 years ago

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[STAR WARS/STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS] IF WE’RE TALKING BODY, YOU GOT A PERFECT ONE

Pairings: Kylo Ren/Armitage Hux. Characters: Armitage Hux, Kylo Ren and Captain Phasma. Disclaimer: Star Wars does not belong to me. Warnings: The title comes from the song "Talking body", by Tove Lo. This story happens after The Force Awakens but before The Last Jedi. There is a part of this story that was based on a Brooklyn 99 scene. This is an unrevised work and English is not my mother language, so I'm sorry for the mistakes. Summary: “Maybe you could find a better way for Ren to lose energy. You see, if he finds a better distraction, he won't…” She shrugs, an impressive feature to be done wearing a full-bodied armor. In which Phasma gives solid advice, Hux is oblivious as to what it means, Ren is ready to take the General apart in a sexy way and the Finalizer crew fears.

Also on: AO3

“Maybe.” Captain Phasma starts, slowly. “You, sir, could turn the tables on Ren.”

General Hux sighs, rubbing his temples. Every time someone says Ren's name he feels a headache blossoming, almost like a curse itself. Today, he has not only killed two Stormtroopers but also destroyed half of the equipment on medbay when someone told him he should lay down for a while.

“And how am I supposed to do this, Phasma?” Hux asks. He can almost see his reflection in her chromed armor, if not a little distorted. How does she keep it so pristine? he wonders as he observes her, waiting for her answer. It's one thing he admires in her the most: how she is always capable of taking care of her armor without look like a great deal.

Phasma should teach Ren how to do that. And how to be a professional. And how to be an adult. And how not to ruin important equipment when they are on this ship for a reason. And how to not kill his own Stormtroopers. And how—

Perhaps Ren is on our side on purpose, on a mission to the Resistance, Hux thinks. His main job is to be utterly useless and delay everything we do.

It could work. It was working. Hux makes a mental note to investigate his data logs.

“Well,” Phasma says after a long pause. She stops herself again and Hux lifts an eyebrow, confused. “Maybe you could find a better way for him to lose energy. You see, if he finds a better distraction, he won't…” She shrugs, an impressive feature to be done wearing a full-bodied armor.

Hux frowns at the idea. “It could work. He was invested in finding Skywalker for so long and spend enough time away from the Finalizer to do it.” Hux muses. “The problem is that he never listens to my orders and would not truly invest himself on any mission I could give him.”

“I didn't mean like that, sir.” Phasma says hurriedly and Hux stops thinking about possible missions.

“What were you thinking, then?”

She hesitates once again. “Perhaps you could help in distracting him.” Something on her voice is very strained, as if it pained her to say something like that. “You do need a distraction too, sir.”

“Why? I'm not destroying precious equipment and useful men!”

“You are... A little over the edge.”

“I am perfectly fine, Phasma. You are being ridiculous.”

She sighs.

Phasma sighs.

Hux frowns at her for a long moment and when he opens his mouth to ask what was that about, she gets up and asks permission to leave.

Hux never forgets. Well, he does. When he is particular drunk on some particular wine or if it's his mother's birthday, but never when he is on duty. He always remembers everything. So, when he next sees Kylo Ren, he thinks of his conversation with Phasma.

A distraction, he thinks as he stares the man walk around hunched over himself, threatening his officers. He is sitting in his chair, reading reports from gamma shift. A distraction for Ren and I.

Ren stops talking all of sudden and straightens his back. His head turns to stare at Hux so fast he wonders how did Ren not have whiplash. Hux frowns.

“What is it, Ren?”

The man does not answer, only breathes more heavily under his mask.

Hux stares at him for a long moment before he turns his eyes to the reports, feeling Ren's heavy stare on him.

What Ren and I have in common?, he asks himself one night when he is ready to get a few hours of sleep.

They are almost the same age and they both want the First Order to succeed. More than that, they both have this need to be acknowledged by the Supreme Leader, almost as if he were their father. Ugh, that's a nightmare-inducing thought right there, he thinks.

Hux sighs. What Ren and I could do together to distract each other?

Perhaps a joint mission? A common goal? The girl and the pilot and the Stormtrooper? Phasma would enjoy this mission too, he guesses. It could be something that would bring them together the pillars of the First Order, it—

Someone bangs on his door and Hux jumps at the sound. He gets up from his bed and moves in the dark with the same efficiency he would if the lights were on.

When he opens his door, Kylo Ren is there, walking from one side to the other, breathing heavily.

“What—” Hux starts, but is cut off by Ren's voice.

He sounds strangled. “Your thoughts.” It's all he says. Hux quickly understands.

“Have you been listening to them? Again? How many times have I told you to not do this? Ren, it’s a simple thing, it cannot be so bloody difficult to—”

Kylo Ren doesn't answer. They stare each other for a while before he says: “You— I— You—”

Ren stops himself and only stares. After a moment, Hux feels his head grow heavy. He flinches and takes a step back. “What are you—?”

Ren leaves.

His officers are happier. Hux did not rise to his post as General for being observant, so he soon notices the change in his officer’s moods as they pass next to him or work under his orders. The tension in the air has cleared, somehow, and even the Stormtroopers seem to feel safer inside the Finalizer.

Hux is not.

He is mostly annoyed and a little bit confused. Yes, Kylo Ren stopped breaking important equipment. Yes, Kylo Ren did not force choked anyone in a few days. Yes, Kylo Ren is not hovering near his officers and breathing heavily in that unsettling way. However, Kylo Ren does. Not. Stop. Staring. At. him.

Ren is not subtle. He could never be, when he has a mask so big that forces him to turn his head every time he looks at someone. He stares at Hux when they are near each other, ever since he came that night to Hux and caused him a headache as he entered his thoughts. Messy and dangerous, Hux told Supreme Leader Snoke, who found curious that Ren would use so much force to enter an untrained mind like Hux’s, which offended Hux a little by the way Supreme Leader talked about him and his mind.

This oaf, he thinks as he plainly ignores Ren in favor of some meaningless news about ranks on the First Order. A boy that went with him to the Academy just got promoted after he successfully stopped a rebellion on Ibaar. An impressive feature and all he got from it was a small scar on his face. In Hux’s opinion, he became a lot more attractive than he already was, what is kind of unfair, really. He enlarges the image to see him better. The way he smiles to the camera, only one eye open now makes Hux remember he did masturbate once thinking of this boy, when he was much younger and much more confused. If we had time, we could offer support to his troops. It’s a highly unprofessional thought that arouses Hux more than it should. These little fantasies of himself doing something unprofessional for the sake of a good fuck are always his favorite, even though they’ll never be—

The screen of his device suddenly cracks and Hux has to throw it away on the floor as it explodes on his hand. He feels eyes around him as he looks around for Ren in particular, but he is no longer there.

“I see you accepted my advice.” Phasma says when they are alone once again.

Hux scoffs at her. “Ren is still insufferable.”

“Yes.” She says, her tone indicating she is having fun. “But he has stopped destroying things.”

“For how long?” Hux asks. “For how long will he stay this well-behaved?”

“As long as you want—”

“Ha!” Hux scoffs. “He is using me as a distraction, that is sure, but we both know he tends to get bored easily.”

“Sir, if I may speak freely.”

“Aren’t you right speaking freely right now?”

“Sir.”

Hux sighs and nods. He threads his fingers through his hair, messing it up, as he waits for whatever it is Phasma will tell him. His eyes fall on the last drawer of his desk, where a perfectly good Hosnian wine is hidden for special occasions, since it’s now as rare as people capable of using the Force.

“I don’t think he will ever get enough of you. He might l—”

“That is just great!” Hux says, just thinking about Ren not getting tired of him takes away his will to live. “What a joy, to be played with for the rest of my life by an overgrown toddler who keeps trying to blow my devices in my face.”

“What?” The confusion in Phasma’s voice is so palpable it scares Hux for a moment.

“What? Did you not hear? He blew up my device on my face— What? ”

Phasma stares at him for a long moment before storming out of the room without asking him to be excused. Not that she needed, but. Rude.

Half of the reason why Hux is an insomniac is the fact that he cannot simply sleep. His mind likes to play tricks on him and when he is on the verge of falling asleep, he reaches a conclusion that leaves him awake for the rest of the night. It was like this how he found the solution for Starkiller, for example.

Today, his conclusion is not about weapons that will turn the tides and kill billions of people. Unfortunately. The conclusion is from Phasma’s confusion on their conversation and her outburst. Both were obviously talking about different things related to Ren. What was her conclusion is another story and Hux soon realizes she was talking about something in specific when they first had this conversation and she suggested something to distract Ren with.

What could it be, he wonders as he gets up and decides to revise some of his speeches because it is not likely he will sleep anytime soon.

The answer comes to him on the other day, as he is on the bridge and Ren pass by him. He remembers the way he broke his device as he stared at a man Hux would gladly let himself get fucked by and—

“Where is Phasma?” Hux says, louder than necessary, rushing out the words. “Where” And he starts screaming. “Is. Phasma?”

Officer Mitaka starts fumbling on his keyboard, sweat already dripping on his chin. “Uh, she is overseeing training—”

“Get her in my office!” Hux shrieks. He shrieks, red-faced and storming out of the room. “Now or you will not have to worry about Ren ever again, because I will destroy this ship myself!”

A droid beeps near him as the door closes. From inside the bridge, they can hear the sound of its poor body being crushed by General Hux’s boots. Then, its last sound as it is shot down by him.

And then the bridge starts to run madly to get Phasma as fast as possible.

Phasma looks rather bored when she sits down in his office, even though when one of the officers on the bridge called her, he was weeping in terror.

“Ren and I?” Hux asks, voice already high enough to break a glass. “Ren and I?”

She stays silent for as long as she can, but soon her shoulders start shaking as she laughs. It is so bad Phasma has to take her helmet off to breathe properly.

Forty minutes later, Hux still is screaming.

“Ren and I? How dare you, Captain Phasma. I am your superior officer! Don't ever speak to me like that again!”

There is a crowd behind General Hux’s door. They are all frightened and considering what the consequences would be if they were caught listening in to two superior officers conversations, however—

“Ren. And I. Are you listening to yourself? “REN AND I? My relationship with Ren is extremely professional, I’ll have you know. Also, it must be forbidden in at least fifty planets to have sexual intercourse with a child in a man’s body, also Ren and I? Are you insane? Ren. And. I? Ren AND I?!”

Ren is, to put it mildly, highly amused. “And here I thought I was considered the most dangerous of our co-commandership.”

Hux, who is running the ship from inside his room for the moment, only glares at Ren. He looks smug even underneath the mask and the armor. The way he leans in against his door, opened with the Force, arms folded against his chest make Hux want to open fire and only stop when there is nothing left.

His breath picks up and Hux tries to contain the thrill of knowing Ren would like that sort of violence. “They ought to know—” Hux says, grinding his teeth, “—who they should truly fear.”

“Yes.” Ren’s voice is thick with want. He enters the room and the sound of the door closing against him makes Hux hard. “You are the most formidable General on the First Order for a reason, are you not?”

“This is highly unprofessional, Ren.” He shifts on his seat at the thought, holding back a whimper. Somehow, Ren seems to notice the sound that never left his body, and he crashes against the desk, hand against Hux’s throat, holding him there.

“Yes.”

“Ren.”

The man squeezes his throat with his one hand. The leather of his gloves scratches the sensitive skin of his neck and Hux moans, not afraid. Something else. He licks his lips before biting it and Ren throws the desk between them against the wall. Hux is so far gone he does not even reprimand him.

The next day, Captain Phasma enters the main deck with orders to substitute both Kylo Ren and General Hux for the day. There is a moment of silence before she receives a standing ovation from all the officers on shift.

She humbly accepts the applause.

A/N.: Hux has a “being unprofessional” kink, pass it on.

I have been on this fandom for two years, lurking in the shadows, but it was The Last Jedi's unhealthy relationship that got me into writing here. I have at least three stories that I started of this ship, but could not finish. They are very angsty and filled with myth and pain, but of course the first humorous one I think I finish in a day.

PS: Kylo didn't tell Hux, but Snoke totally knows and he's fine with it.

#fanfiction #star wars #star wars the force awakens #kylux #kylo ren #hux #armitage hux #ben solo #phasma #captain phasma #general hux

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nicaffeinated · 7 years ago

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An in-depth but unorganized review of Star Wars Ep.VIII: The Last Jedi

I don’t really do movie reviews, but for Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, I’m willing to do it (and because most of the people I know haven’t seen it yet, I need to let things out!) So, if you haven’t seen the movie yet and are planning to watch it soon, please don’t read this. Do yourself a favor, and don’t spoil yourself.

To set things going, I just want you to know that I love Star Wars. As a kid, I grew up being only aware of the Star Wars franchise. I knew about lightsabers, Darth Vader, Jedi, Sith, and I even knew about the Millennium Falcon considering I haven’t watched any of the movies before! This just says how big the Star Wars influence is. But what set things in stone for me was actually watching the original trilogy marathon on TV out of boredom. This was uncanny of me, as at that age I was more obsessed with fairies and princesses in ball gowns. Then I got to know our beloved heroes, Luke, Han and Leia and I went out a fan, and here I am now.

I watched the movie on the second day of release, which is the 14th of December here in the Philippines. In fact, at first, I was the only girl to enter the cinema during the first screening of that day. There were like 7 guys already inside and I just knew they’ve been waiting to watch this movie for two years as I have.

So to get on with the movie review, I generally liked it, but all in all I don’t know what to feel about it. I guess writing about it will help me in weighing everything down.

On-Screen

I feel that instead of answering questions, the movie just raised a shit ton of them. Don’t get me wrong, I liked it in its cinematic sense. I was in awe of how Rian Johnson visualized everything. It is very unlike how JJ Abrams based VII on the previous movies, Johnson really brings new things to the plate. He is very creative and you can really see that in the film. There was a part with Rey seeing multiple reflections of herself during her time in Ahch To, Luke didn’t want her to do that and in the end she just ends up crying. I do understand that it was important to paint Rey in a more vulnerable light compared to her Mary Sue-ness in EpVII, but I just thought it was unnecessary to have the multiple Reys on screen no matter how cool it looked.

The hyperspeed kamikazee of Amilyn Holdo played by Laura Dern was breath taking. The cinema just completely fell silent and it was so cool I had chills down both my arms. Can I just acknowledge Disney for adding these amazing women to the cast. This was a brilliant move Disney, and also the casting directors. And, by the way, the “connection” scenes between Rey and Kylo Ren were well executed, in my opinion.

And I really liked how humorous the movie turned out, I was surprised I genuinely laughed which didn’t happen in the Prequels (We get it Anakin, you don’t like sand.) Oscar Isaac/Poe Dameron and Domhnall Gleeson/General Armitage Hux were great and funny whenever they were on-screen. They worked the same way as Chewie, the Porgs and those nuns/caretakers in Ahch To. I guess it’s safe to say, they kept boredom at bay.

WAIT, WHAT?

Moving on to the confusing parts, I just don’t get why they didn’t kill Leia off in her swooping in like Peter Pan scene, considering what has happened in real life. They are really making it hard for them to do IX with Carrie gone but it supposedly being her movie (Ep VII was Han’s, and VIII was Luke’s). I guess we’ll just see how that goes and hopefully make Carrie Fisher lovingly raise her middle finger like a salute at us from her pool of moonlight.

I don’t get why they killed off potentially amazing characters. Phasma for one and why the hell did Snoke die that easily? For a powerful, ancient character, he was just like a rag doll that was a throw away. The movie lost the opportunity of expanding their plot by killing off Snoke. I guess Kylo is his own villain now, assuming that he still has light in him after being rejected by Rey like that.

To top it all off: Rose Tico and Finn? Really? I didn’t even see them lock eyes for more than a minute. (Stormpilot and Reylo for the win)

Goodbye, Luke

I really appreciate how Luke died. I’m sad that he’s dead, but in his words “No one is ever truly gone” which popped up in a conversation with Leia regarding Ben/Kylo, but can be applied to Han, himself and even our dear Princess Carrie Fisher. Force projecting himself into the Resistance base in Crait to face Kylo in what I see as his best Kylo-Tantrum ever was awesome.

On as side note, Adam Driver was amazing in VII and he’s even better (and shirtless, but that’s not the point) here in VIII. I can’t wait to see him star in more movies. He killed it this time.

Moving back, if you were looking properly, you would really see that something was off with Luke. He has his lightsaber, completely unscratched (which was the one Kylo and Rey broke in half back in Snoke’s ship) and he didn’t leave any footprints when he walked out of the base. I mean there was a reason they gave screen time to the Resistance man’s red footprint on the planet’s salt surface. Anyway, Jedi master as he was, Luke died out of what I believe is exhaustion in Ahch To, looking at what seemed as two suns setting, which was a great homage to his time in Tatooine. I won’t lie, I had actual tears in my eyes during this time. But what I thought when I saw this was, IS AHCH TO IN THE SAME SYSTEM AS TATOOINE? I know it’s irrelevant now, but I just want to know considering I don’t see any maps with Ahch To on it. And just so you know, I really am bothered by it.

Anyway, I understand why Luke had to die. In the future movies, we just can’t keep coming back to the Skywalker bloodline. The Jedi and most importantly the Skywalkers are not the sole wielders of the force as there are a lot of force sensitive beings and the force is in everyone and everything. What they are saying here is anyone can be special and I really like that. And I really like how the force kind of chooses people who don’t have anyone or anything else but have ambition and longing to make a difference.

Other than that, I have high hopes that we’ll be seeing Luke again pretty soon. It will be a welcome sight just like how puppet Yoda popped in here in VIII. It was pretty funny and nostalgic.

Suddenly weaker?

The Force likes to keep things in balance. That’s why in the height of Kylo’s power, the force sent Rey to be his equal at the time, which explains her being able to do all those amazing stuff in VII. But here in VIII, we don’t see Kylo Ren and Rey do a lot of cool tricks, basically because I think the force is making sure that when Luke has to do what he has to do, he has enough power to tap into the force for that force projection, despite it ultimately feeding off of his life in the end. Well, that’s what I think the reason is.

A New Hope

If you jumped out of your seat when that orphaned kid seemingly summoned that broom to his hand back in Canto Bight (You know, that boring casino world in the middle of the movie where they got Benicio del Toro’s code-breaker character “DJ” (which stands for “Don’t Join”, apparently) to hack into Snoke’s flagship, Supremacy. Yes, THAT.) You are not alone. I literally squeaked when I saw that, and then I was completely in awe when he raised that broom forming the silhouette of a Jedi wielding a lightsaber as he stares out into the cosmos. I will never forget that scene. Never.

For me, it just symbolizes everything that the Force and Star Wars stands for, which is POTENTIAL. Just about anybody, even if you’re a nobody at that, YOU have the potential to change the universe and the worlds beyond.

And because Rey is not a Jedi yet, but Luke hinted that he’s not going to be the last Jedi, seems to say that she has the potential to be one and Luke definitely has faith in her. Maybe once she gets to build another lightsaber from Luke/Anakin’s kyber crystal inside the broken shaft of the lightsaber that she and Kylo Ren broke in that tug of war.

Oh and did you also get why Yoda burnt that old tree just to set Luke free from all his doubts? You know, when Yoda talked about how there is nothing in those books that Rey does not already have. It’s because Rey took the ancient Jedi texts. She stored it in a compartment inside the Millennium Falcon and we got to see it via Finn near the end. Good job, Rey! This is just more proof that hope is never really gone.

RATING

4 out of five stars!!

Reading everything that I have written, I do like the movie. I find it creatively amazing, despite having plot holes (I believe there’s a lot more than what I have listed above). I’d like to think that the creators have provided themselves with an almost clean slate to work on IX and also having the chance to input more stories into the Star Wars franchise. I mean, who knows, maybe some of the legends may become canon soon.

We’ll see.

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blueraith · 7 years ago

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Saw The Last Jedi Last Night

And I’ve been reading fan reactions to the movie, mostly on the Star Wars subreddit. Read more for spoilers, though this will also be tagged.

I really enjoyed this movie. I don’t think it was a perfect movie, but everything made sense, and there weren’t any plotholes that stuck out to me immediately. I plan on watching it again at least once, so maybe something will bother me then. I don’t find myself bothered by some of the criticisms that many are listing elsewhere.

Namely the humor. People say it’s too ‘marvel-ish.’ Honestly, I haven’t seen a Marvel movie since the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie. I’m super behind. Anyway, I wouldn’t know if they’re right about that. What I do know is that the last trilogy of a Star Wars movie I was subjected to took itself way too seriously. Endless political discussions, referencing midichlorians, constantly going back to a lame prophesy to explain a millennia old order’s hubris as if they couldn’t just look out the damn window and actually see the galaxy they were living in.

But I digress. Complaints about the prequel trilogy are literally 10+ years old now. I didn’t mind the humor in this movie because too many people take Star Wars too seriously. As if it’s supposed to be this modern era biblical text about good and evil. It is a story about good and evil, but even the source material itself forgets to make its own characters human at times. You didn’t get that with this movie. There were some silly moments, but honestly, I was just enjoying something that was fun for once.

Case in point, there is a complaint about Snoke hitting Rey in the head with Anakin’s lightsaber. A funny moment in a super serious conversation. Which I had a hard time taking that seriously anyway because it was clearly a critique of RotJ’s Palpatine/Luke/Vader’s scenes. Snoke goes out of his way to humiliate Kylo Ren for being a Vader fanboy when he himself is a Palpatine fanboy. The entire First Order is a love letter to the deposed Empire. Claiming that a single cog of this institution isn’t embarrassingly living in the past is just being dense. It was also one of the main points of the movie. Move on from the past. Don’t forget it like Kylo wants, but learn from the past’s failures and become something better. Yoda literally says this almost rote in the movie.

Also another tangent. Why I didn’t mind that bit of humor in the Snoke scene was that I didn’t find it ‘silly’ like others would have. The entire scene in the first place was silly. Snoke trying to out Palpatine was just ridiculous in the first place and he pays for it dearly later on. It was more dark humor for me. Luke pulls his lightsaber from Palp and Vader has to defend his master in RotJ. That doesn’t happen here. It’s one of the more original parts of this part of the movie, with Kylo and Rey’s team up being the other. Instead of depending on a glorified robot to protect him, Snoke shows off his own considerable Force powers and shows Rey outright that trying to out power him is a stupid move. Kylo tricking him was clever and much more successful. (And I didn’t think I’d be praising Kylo for anything in this movie, but hey, he went through some character development without getting redeemed. Exactly what I wanted, so he’s much more palatable to me.)

Aside from the humor, another complaint I disagree with is Luke’s role in the movie. Luke’s always been a whiny little brat. He’s less so in RotJ, but that’s always been a defining character trait for him. So, finding out that he’s a whiny old man was super refreshing from what I feared he would be. Which, ironically, seems to be exactly what the Reddit fanboys wanted. I didn’t want Luke to be a badass caricature of a Jedi like he is in the Legends novels. I’ve always hated book Luke. He’s stupid powerful, supposedly wise beyond all measure (yet also had the obnoxious hubris the Old Jedi Order had), and does stupid powerful things with the force. Folks on Reddit wanted him to literally pull down AT-ATs like The Force Unleashed did with the Star Destroyer.

Holy crap, no. No, no no. Star Wars had been experiencing a power creep for over two decades in the Legends canon. Shit had been getting silly. And not the good kind, either. It was a sort of silliness that insisted it was perfectly reasonable and that it was super serious in this grimdark universe. Looking at you, NJO and LotF. God, those book series were so cringeworthy.

Instead, I appreciated this reasonably powered, whiny, broken Luke. He was refreshing, and wasn’t obnoxious. While trying, albeit incorrectly, to teach Rey the mistakes the Jedi have always made. This is ultimately why I liked this movie. Luke wasn’t trying to be Jedi Order 2.0. He already went that route, and it blew up in his face. Ultimately, I wanted a movie that did look at the flaws of the Jedi and the Sith and treat these flaws as the disasters that they were. Luke and Rey did that. And when Luke does finally get his head out of his ass, he does it in a way that shows off how powerful he is appropriately. I mean, come on, we’ve never seen a living Jedi project his image across light years like Luke does in movies, TV shows, books, or video games. This was a fresh power used in a brand new way. It was great, and showed Kylo directly that brutal shows of power aren’t always most effective. Luke buys time for the Resistance to escape using a glorified hologram of himself. It was great. And Kylo was so blinded that he didn’t notice that Luke wasn’t leaving footprints. Didn’t notice Luke hadn’t aged a bit since he last saw him, and most damning, didn’t notice that Luke was using Anakin’s just destroyed lightsaber. One that Kylo himself had a part in destroying.

The time of the Old Jedi Order is over, they died when Luke did. Now it’s up to Rey. I hope she actually changes some thing about Jedi and that those texts she took from the old temple won’t lead her down the same path all over again.

#Star Wars #The Last Jedi #spoilers

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ampwich-blog · 7 years ago

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In depth review of Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens

There will be lots of spoilers. You have been warned. Where do I even begin with this movie? Well first off, where is the episode number? (Review gets better, stick around!) Might be confusing for some, but I suppose everyone knows by now what number it is. Anyway, let’s start at, well the start. First, we see no 20th Century Fox intro....which took some getting used to at first but it’s fine, it’s to be expected. As you know, Disney is now the parent company of Lucasfilm, so the Fox logo is not gonna be in there, obviously. I am really glad that Disney didn’t put THEIR logo in. I was a bit worried going in at what it would be like. I mean, I want Disney to keep off of Star Wars as much as possible, if that makes sense. I don’t wanna be reminded of the situation, ya know, lol.

So, the title crawl. The theme is a bit.....off. Bad quality....it sounds....hollow, in a way. Compare it to that of the prequel title crawls, and you’ll see what I mean. That version (Prequel crawl) remains the best in my opinion. Legit quality score, while this one, all due respect to the mastermind that is John Williams, is more of a sad attempt.....a parody, if you will. “Luke has vanished!” Interesting....thought not quite in his character, but I’ll get to that later. Capital letters for the factions involved.....which only happened with every even number movie (2, 4, 6) up to now. Kinda breaking tradition a little, but it’s forgivable since it does mention the Empire in the crawl, and they gotta make a distinction as to what factions are actually in the movie. “With the support of the REPUBLIC, Leia leads a brave RESISTANCE.” Well, would have preferred to see the actual Republic in the conflict itself, but I’ll get to that later.

The opening shot, despite it being the only one of the saga (At this time) that has nothing to do with the last sentence of the title crawl, is pretty freaking epic. The big ship looming over the planet below, and deploying troop transports is just awe to the some! It’s ominous, visually astounding, and just tell you right off the bat that this First Order does not mess around. They are like the Empire as far as the ideals; the evil, sort of wanting to control and get their way, but the way they go about things is like the Republic of old, where they aren’t afraid to get down and dirty, so to speak. (Despite them looking new and shiny, ha) They are willing get things done, no matter the cost, (As we see what they did to that village) and that makes them terrifying. Speaking of which, the troops being deployed and the fight that ensues is pretty awesome. Let me just say that over all, this movie is stunning. It sure does THAT right. You got practical effects everywhere as far as the on-ground scenes go, and beautiful cgi as far as everything else goes. Except for some scenes here and there, like the starfighters when they are dogfighting, and especially when Poe and Finn escape the Finalizer, the cgi is a bit animated there but I honestly never minded that kinda thing. I mean, even in the prequel trilogy, I don’t mind the cgi. I’m there for the story and the action, and I can suspend any “belief” as far as visuals go to have a good time viewing, but hey, that’s just me. Anyway, let’s move on to the more nitpicky things.

First of all, Finn. I really like the concept of his character, his backstory. This bad guy turned good. Especially what we’ve seen up until now as faceless troopers. (As far as the movies go, since The Clone Wars series showed the clones in great depth) Which I like the idea of, but the way they go about it is super lame to me. They introduce the idea that faceless, nameless bad guys can turn good, that they are people too, and have morals and a conscience. They have their own lives and struggles. Sort of “lifting the mask,” so to speak. But they forget about that pretty quickly, as they go right back to shooting away baddies like they are points in a game. Even Finn is all, “WWOOOO!” as he shoots away his friends, his comrades, the only family he’s ever known. These are people he knew personally, who, he should know better than anyone, are people too, who can become good. Not only that, but the way he turns good is just....rushed. He switches on a dime. From the very get go, he is already questioning his ways with no development whatsoever. “It’s the right thing to do,” he says, despite never having had a conversation with a good guy saying that.....NOTHING. Just.....BAM, bad guy being horrified by his factions actions (Hey, that rhymed) and turning good right away. And another shame, to add insult to injury so to speak, is Finn is just another stereotypical black character. Like seemingly every black guy Hollywood depicts, he is the comic relief, the hyper guy, always on edge and shouting, exaggerating things, etc. And what is it with Hollywood and black characters always speaking in an American-ish.....I guess sort of “urban” way? I mean, they could have just had the actor use his real life, natural English accent. I mean, it’s a cool accent! And he is apart of the First Order, so it would make sense. “Oh, but the original trilogy had stormtroopers always speaking in an American accent.” Well, that doesn’t mean this trilogy has to do the same thing! Not EVERYONE is from the same dang planet! Chances are, not ALL of them would have the same accents. (The clone troopers didn’t have an American accent, by the way) And as far as these stormtroopers go, they were kidnapped from the First Order at a very young, impressionable age, being raised and trained. So it only makes sense they, too, might have an “English“ accent. (I say the nationality terms for accents here for lack of a better way to put it. Obviously, these aren’t Earthlings, lol) They said they went with an “American” accent for Finn, due to the pacing and comical tone. But 1. WHY does he need to be comical? This dude has a tragic story, he shouldn’t be the comic relief. I mean, you could have done that with Poe, if anyone. But do we REALLY need anyone to be comical? Do we really need a “Jar Jar” or “C-3PO” of this trilogy? (C-3PO is already in it, anyway) 2. He kind of pronounces words weird. Could be the planet he is from? If so, could someone tell me what planet? Like for example, Jakku. “JockUUE.” No, no, Finn, it’s “Jack-koo.” “JocKUUE.” No, no, “Jack.....koo.....” “JockUUE.” Ya know what, nevermind. Just....don’t worry about it.

Anyway....you also have Rey, who is, granted, not PERFECT at everything, but she is a little....too good....There’s really no development for her, I mean she has the same basic attitude and, well, fighting skills the whole time. Sure, it can be explained away by her being a scavenger all her life, growing up in a “rough part of town,” so to say. But it just makes her parts in the movie more boring, really. Not that much room to grow as a character. She’s just good from the get go. Similar to Anakin in Episode 1. Is she a Chosen One, too?! I’m getting those vibes with her...And doesn’t help that all the characters seem to know who she is, but never say anything. It’s like some big mystery, some big reveal to come in the next movie. Please tell me we’re not gonna get another “I am your family member” moment. That aside, there is no real attributes to her, aside from her not wanting to leave Jakku, because her family might come back at any time. She has to learn to accept that she has to move on. She has to live her own life. These new friends of hers ARE her family now, and she has a cause to fight for, a real difference to make for the greater good. But aside from that, there really isn’t that much going for her, character wise. She’s just kinda the same throughout the whole movie, already having good sound morals, being a good fighter and pilot. (How the heck does she know the Millennium Falcon better than Han Solo?!) Being able to use the Force and know how to mind trick, etc. (HOW??) all seemingly without flaw. Granted, her fight with Kylo later is pretty much defensive, and she was losing up until the point she remembers to trust in the Force, and only then does the tide turn in her favor. (Much like Luke in the Battle of Yavin) And heck, Kylo was injured by a freaking bowcaster for crying out loud! (By the way, how the heck does he stay still as a statue, when others hit by the bowcaster are FLUNG like a sonic frisbee?....) Kylo was not only facing her, but Finn as well. AND he just murdered his father, so that’s probably going through his mind. That is pretty impressive on his part. So I will give Rey’s character that much, that there was AN attribute and that she did struggle....(For as little as she did) But hey, it’s something. Though escaping from Kylo Ren’s clutches all by herself was a bit much.

The other new guy, Poe Dameron. He was alright. He was WAY too good of a pilot, though, I mean, geez. (Now this is podracing?) And that part where he is flung elsewhere when he and Finn crash, and later turns out he survived and is right back to fighting. Not a whole lot of sound explanation is given for that, at least in the realm of believability. Now that is called bad writing, I’m just being honest.

Kylo Ren.....I don’t quite understand the hate toward him. I mean, he’s a developing character. He’s conflicted....and yes, he’s quite whiny. But he is related to Anakin and Luke, he’s got that Skywalker blood in him, so it’s kind of to be expected. He isn’t another Vader; Meaning, he isn’t already matured and developed, and is an all out boss to face later. This high and mighty villain that is a lurking threat and you must come to face at some point. No, he is basically a main character in his own right. He is the other side of the coin from Rey. I am excited to see where they take his character. The idea of Han and Leia’s son being a villain is pulled straight from Legends, which I personally appreciate. As much as they ignore the old EU, (Correct me if I’m wrong, never really read it) they do have SOME things from it, so I at least like that. Though what is up with his Force powers? Apparently in Star Wars, you can stop blaster fire mid air? And you can freeze a person in place, and even knock them out? Why didn’t anyone ever do any of that before, then? I’m sure it would have come in handy.

Snoke.....I like the mystery behind his character, and his ominous presence. (But dat voice though) So many questions. Who is this guy? WHAT is he? Why is he leading the First Order? (I will address that part later) I just hope he doesn’t end up being some random evil Force user. Some new character, another villain they have to defeat, blah blah blah. I want him to be of some great significance. Perhaps he is someone we know of already, and is getting his revenge, or is on the rise. Perhaps he is the dark side itself personified, and defeating him would finally bring true balance to the Force and end all this madness. SOMETHING that when he and the First Order are defeated, it can be a nice finish to the saga, bringing all 3 trilogies together in a grand way. Whatever happens, I just hope it’s awesome, mind blowing, and significant. I don’t want this trilogy to just be “what happens later.” Or a one off thing. I want it to be legit THE SEQUEL TRILOGY.

Captain Phasma SUCKS in this movie. They made her out to be a fierce warrior or some crap in marketing, only for her to have nothing to do in the film, and to be a total coward. The ease at which she succumbs to the good guys demands is just pathetic. All they had to do is threaten her life and she is willing to compromise her entire faction. Just a WEAK villain. And Han suggests to throw her in a trash compactor. I mean, that’s pretty dark for his character, don’t you think? I thought he was a good guy! What gives?

General Hux is, well....alright I guess. He does have some cringey dialogue at times. Like when he is talking to Snoke and is all, “We should destroy the government that supports the Resistance.....” and there’s a pause in there, as if we don’t know what he is referring to. OH, what could it possibly be, I wonder?? “the Republic.” *GASP!* NOOOOOO! (That whole situation with the First Order, Resistance, and Republic is pretty confusing, but I will get to that in a bit) His speech was pretty epic, though, I gotta admit. I couldn’t help but listen to it and apply it to my imagination in some way. It definitely has a Nazi vibe to it. Really gives you the sense that these guys are this small, extremist group rallying together and hellbent on destroying the Republic and all that is good. We get to see their craziness at play here. They come across as a cult, almost. You can tell by the way the troops respond, too, that they are pretty much brainwashed and willing to die for a cause that is evil. These guys are quite the threat, despite their small size. (They do make up for that with their big ships and advanced tech. They have to use quality over quantity)

Now that the Republic capital has been Alderaaned all up in here, the good guys have definitely been brought down to the First Orders level, and now it’s more of an even fight. Since before, it was the galactic government, the Republic. With its big military (WAY smaller than any before it, but still the biggest of its era, so I’ve read) and Leia leading a Resistance. But now, a good chunk of the Republics fleet is gone and they probably will have to band with the Resistance if they have any hope of fighting off the First Order. (So I hope is the case) Though they make it seem like the Republic as a whole is destroyed, and if that is the case, then that is soooo stupid! The Rebels, turns out, did restore the Republic. But now it’s as if it was all for nothing, as now, it seemingly gets destroyed. Now we are stuck with ANOTHER ragtag group of Rebels. REALLY.

This “Resistance” (Oh, yes, sounds soooo different, uh huh) looks JUST like the Rebel Alliance! X-Wings, the pilot outfits, a hidden base on a forest planet, the whole 9 yards. Heck, even their emblem is the EXACT same as the Rebel firebird! They aren’t even trying here! This is just Rebellion 2.0! Even the situation they find themselves in, from trying to get info in a droid before their enemy does, to having to blow up a planet killing ball seconds before it destroys their base....IS THE SAME THING! Those aspects were basically just Episode 4 all over again. I mean, holy crap, I know you have to do the whole “rhyme” thing, but can you at least be a little more subtle about it? Yes, Episode 1 repeated some stuff, but they weren’t so blatant about it. There’s even a dang trench run! COME ON, LUCASFILM! Have SOME originality here!

The bad guys, while more original, isn’t excused either. The First Order (What does that name even mean? Like....what??) is also a missed opportunity. I mean, first learning about them, they seemed like this organized terrorist group, essentially an evil rebellion. A group founded by fleeing Imperials years before, hellbent on revenge, yata yata. (NONE of which is explained in the movie) Much like the real life theory of Nazis fleeing elsewhere and rebuilding in secret to become a threat once more. Which more or less is exactly what they are. But to me, they had initially seemed like a cult, a secret society, some extremist group. Which I definitely got that feel during Hux’s speech. (Again, which is awesome) But as time goes on, I’m starting to see them more like Empire 2.0. Still TIE Fighters for some reason, still calling their troops stormtroopers (More of a minor nitpick, really) another Death Star, (I will address that in a bit) another scarred dark sider leading it, etc. (And from the looks of The Last Jedi, more walkers....probably gonna be a weakness that needs exploited) Even another dark side enforcer dude with a mask on. Well that last part, again, is kind of a minor nitpick, but thought I’d mention the parallel at least. (I personally like Kylo Ren, as I said before. Though the son of the Resistance leader being in the First Order is kind of a bit too coincidental, huh?)

What I think would have made a more compelling setting is the New Republic vs the Resistance. (The Resistance being what we ultimately got as the First Order) Instead of being a closed off organization being led by yet another dark sider, (Which doesn’t even make sense here. Like what the heck does Snoke have to do with them??) it would be a movement actively recruiting members who are loyalists to the old Empire, and want to take down the Republic. Led by Hux, they would actively make speeches, protests, terrorist attacks, etc. Which I suppose we kind of got, but if all that was in the movie itself with some more added, I mean. It would feel more like a reverse rebellion of sorts. They could be more vocal, since the government here is more democratic and friendly.....Of course, my idea of a Resistance would have a military in secret and be doing shady things like the First Order does. That would be the political side of things. On the Force side of things, we would have the new Jedi Order struggling against the Knights of Ren, led by Snoke. And Snoke would be, I don’t know, the source of the dark side itself or something. Perhaps Snoke IS that in canon, or something similar, who knows. This dark side entity from the unknown regions. But him leading the First Order just doesn’t make sense to me and is just too similar to the situation with the Empire.

The new Jedi Order is kinda dumb, turns out. In the EU, they were legit. But here, we never get to see them in action. We’re just told they were all slaughtered. So now we’re back to square one, with Luke being the last of the Jedi....AGAIN. And Luke just....left? When the galaxy needed him most, he vanished.....Some time has passed and my new best friend and I discovered a new Jedi-to-be. A Force user named Rey. And although her Force powers are great, she has a lot to learn before she’s ready to save anyone. Hehe, just kidding. Get the reference? Eh? Moving on. Seems out of Lukes character to just abandon the galaxy like that out of self pity. I mean, this is the same guy who disobeyed his Jedi masters to go save his friends on Bespin, despite all the red flags. The same dude who put his own life and morals on the line just for a slight chance to bring his father back to the light side. This guy is pretty dang stubborn when it comes to saving people. So for him to just throw his hands in the air and say “I quit” and leave everything to die just doesn’t make sense to me. Though to be fair, he was pretty whiny and did give up rather easily.....But still, you would think he’d have learned his lesson by now, 30 years later and being a Jedi master and crap.....(Also he gets no dialogue! WHAT THE HECK. No reunion with the others, nothing. Minor nitpick, really. I honestly don’t mind, to be honest, but thought I’d mention it) Not only Luke, but everyone is back to square one. Han and Chewy are back to their lives of crime. (Don’t tell Leia or anyone in the Republic?) Leia is back to having a big role in a resistance movement. The galaxy is now back to Empire vs Rebels crap again, (Now that the Republic is presumably gone) and so on and so forth. Just seems like all that was accomplished in the original trilogy was for nothing.

Starkiller Base. Let me just get this out of the way: REHASH!! I mean, seriously, it’s Death Star 3, can we please call it Death Star 3 and be honest with ourselves? (Not really, I’m trying to be in denial here) Take out the Starkiller, and this movie is alright. Every time I see it on screen, (As cool as it looks and is to watch it fire) I cringe. Especially during the attack on it by the Resistance. That whole battle just feels like Battle of Yavin 2.0. “Battle of D’qar?” I don’t know....The whole thing was SO painfully predictable, it hurts to watch. I mean, really....how many times are we gonna get this dang scenario? Just 1 movie before this, we already had a 2nd one, do we really need a 3rd? It’s getting numb at this point. Even the characters in the movie are tired of it! “It’s another Death Star!” “I wish that was the case....” NO, it is! That person was right! And even Han is like again, really? The way he speaks about it. “So....it’s big.....Now how do we blow it up? There’s always a way to do that.” UNBELIEVABLE. If it’s such a tiring thing, and been done too much already, WHY PUT IT IN THE MOVIE?! I think I know why.....”Rhyming.” UUGGHH. You could rhyme, that’s fine. Make another ball to destroy, okay. But does it have to be another planet killer? Can’t it be something a little more subtle? I’m just saying! And the way they go about it all is so painful to watch. Oh, we gotta lower the shields from the inside, and blah blah blah. Aside from it being a planet on the outside, the inside is just another Death Star, while D’qar is just another Yavin 4. They look just like those! IS THERE NO CREATIVITY LEFT AT LUCASFILM? And how the heck does it even work? There’s no logic here. I mean, I know it’s in a fictional universe where the Force and hyperdrives exist, but still, you should at least explain it a LITTLE so it makes SOME sense. It sucks in a sun? Odd, but okay. (By the way, I had that same idea for a story I was gonna write, granted a little different. But now I can’t do that, ha) I mean, how does it not melt all the snow and heat everything up? I don’t know, but I can sort of get behind the idea, I GUESS. But isn’t it kind of pointless to suck in THE star of your solar system? So....what then? They just drift off into space, and can never fire? And didn’t they already have to suck in a sun before, when they fired at the Hosnian System? (And notice how it was day light when they fired, as opposed to later when they suck in the sun to prepare to fire, it gets dark) So are there twin suns in their system, too? Or is their sun an unlimited energy source, where they suck in a lot of energy, but the sun “recharges” after a while? If that makes any sense. Though sources say it is a mobile base. Perhaps when it’s done with their sun(s), (Hehe, I like rhyming) it drifts off into space until it comes into contact and starts to orbit another star? Then it can fire that? Though Wookiepedia says Starkiller has rocket ports or something to make it mobile. (Of course, take Wookiepedia with a grain of salt?) But how the heck do you take a whole planet out of its orbit like that? And wouldn’t everyone freeze to death? I don’t care how many heaters you have, yall are gonna be like Pluto all up in here. By the way, the cannon has got to be the size of a freaking continent! And are you telling me the ENTIRE planet is a base? That is a LOT of freaking people. Imagine Earth’s population all working under one military faction. Well, I imagine the planet didn’t house intelligent life before, and now there’s a bunch of First Order people there, but not like a planet sized population? I don’t know, okay, the whole thing is confusing. But needless to say, Starkiller Base wasn’t really needed. It was cool the first time (The Death Star, I mean) kinda lame the second time.....became a trope the third time. (Episode 1, with the droid control ship) and was just beating the dead horse the fourth time in The Clone Wars with the Malevolence. NOW, it’s just becoming BRUTAL. So predictable. I knew as soon as I saw it on the poster that it was gonna go bye bye by the end of the movie. I mean, at least let it stick around for the trilogy, perhaps. Make the destruction of it be a milestone, a cheerful, crucial moment that was hard for the good guys to finally overcome. But what we ultimately got was a “Here we go again” sort of thing, and here comes like, what? 12 fighters to defeat an entire militarized planet! Okay then.....

Now on to seeing the glass more half full. The way I like to see things. Call it denial, but I like to see the Resistance as a New Republic military operation. Obviously, canon says it’s a private military under Leia, but it does say the Republic supports it. (By the way, the canon EU says the Republic sees Leia as a war mongerer and is not listening to her warning about the First Order, so she creates her own army. But then in the movie, it says they do support her? Well which is it??) So a group of Republic volunteers band together to spy on the First Order. (Whom are a somewhat small extremist organization, and NOT another Empire) Snoke is basically a dark sider who dwelled in the unknown regions, and made a bargain with the First Order. “I can help you guys. If you let me lead you right now, I will give you lots of resources, and help you bring the New Republic to its knees. In return, I want help destroying Luke Skywalker, and ending the Jedi once and for all.” So much like when the Sith made a deal to work with the Trade Federation in Episode 1, Snoke and the Knights of Ren made a deal to mingle with the First Order and help lead them to victory. When the Hosnian System gets destroyed, the Republic isn’t wiped out, but simply crippled. Now, my hope is to see the Republic and Resistance band together to fight the First Order. That is my way of making this new era bearable.

All in all, it’s an OKAY, sort of entertaining movie. Visually amazing, but plot and such is pretty lame. The first half is alright for what it is but the latter half is just horrendous. I think I rate this movie.....a 5/10 lightsabers. Basically, average. I know it’s HERESY to say, but I really didn’t care for this movie. Seems to me, and please don’t get offended by this, that a lot of people are hyped on the nostalgia provided. Seeing the original cast again, the Millennium Falcon being chased by TIE Fighters, (Which was pretty meh to me) etc. But for me, personally, I really don’t like nostalgia. At least when it’s used as an excuse to be lazy in story telling. Nostalgia should come natural, not be forced. I don’t know about you, but I get my nostalgia by taking part in the original thing that is the cause of my nostalgia, if that makes sense. Like, if I’m gonna get nostalgia from watching the Millennium Falcon fly away, and TIEs pursuing, etc. in this case, then I watch the original trilogy itself. THEN, all those memories come and I enjoy it. For me, a movie is tied to when I see it. So this movie brings on memories from 2015, if anything, ha. Nostalgia does NOT make a movie any good, in my opinion. Notice how a lot of movies these days relies on their predecessors a little....TOO much. I guess that just happens in Hollywood, when you wait 20+ years to make a sequel, you feel the need to “reel in” the fans, and remake the first one. It’s a shame, too. Movies could be so much better than this. A lot of people don’t like rehashing, and rightfully so. But for some reason, when Star Wars does it, it’s okay? I mean, I know there are a LLOOTT of people on board with me here. They, too, don’t like the rehash....iness....But there are arguably MORE who do. Either they are blinded by nostalgia, like it because “Well it’s great for what it is and I don’t care,” or they like ANYTHING Disney throws their way. (Ever notice that? Disney can never do any wrong?) Even if it’s a company that people know is under Disney, it makes the experience better for them somehow. I don’t know how true any of that is, it’s just my theory. An observation. It kinda scares me a little. Seems like Disney has almost brainwashed the population, in a way. And the rate at which they are expanding, buying everything in sight....I mean, kind of creepy. Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate Disney or anything. I’m just creeped out by them, and don’t like some decisions they make in regards to my favorite franchises. (Mainly being Star Wars) But since Disney practically has the female population in their grasps, I’m gonna have to come to acceptance with them, other wise, will I ever get married, ha. Honestly, if you like Disney, then good for you, I don’t mind. Even I do to some extent. I just don’t like some of their decision making, and some of their partly shady history. Perhaps I’m overthinking things, but that is my take on it all. But anyway, that is my in depth review, lol. Holy crap, this was long. Well, kudos to you if you stuck around. And thank you for letting me waste like, 15+ minutes of your life. You’re welcome.

#star wars #the force awakens #star wars the force awakens #star wars the last jedi #review #episode 7 #the last jedi #star wars episode 8 #episode vii

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